Belleville Bulls 2013 OHL Priority Selections

On April 6th the Belleville Bulls took part in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection. With their 1st pick, 18th Overall the Belleville Bulls selected defenceman Justin Lemcke from the Whitby Wildcats. Belleville drafted three Whitby Wildcats in total. Along with Wildcat Captain Lemcke in the 1st round, the Bulls also drafted Whitby's Assistant Captains, Adam Laishram in the 4th round and Will Ward in the 15th. Belleville drafted two players with local ties. Josh Supryka of the Greater Kingston Frontenacs taken in the 5th round is the son of Bulls Assistant Coach Jason Supryka and Goaltender Brock Tufts of the Quinte Red Devils in the 13th round. In total the Bulls had 17 picks and selected ten forwards, five defencemen and two goal keepers. This is a brief look at all 17 of the Bulls selections from this years draft.

Justin Lemcke is a complete defenceman that does a lot of things very well. Justin is a safe smart defender, he's a good decision maker, with great size, who seems to do well under adversity. Lemcke can skate well and hit hard, he is very good down low and should have no problem adjusting to the big ice at the Yardman Arena. Justin has good hockey sense and sees the ice well, he comes to plays every night and has been called "one of the most physically intimidating players to play against in this league (OMHA). Justin is a complete player defenceman that does a lot of things well. He's one of the leaders on his team. Lemcke can move the puck, has a good wrist shot, he shoots the puck quickly, hard and low, making big rebounds for his forwards. Justin is calm and shows poise when making plays, whether it's clearing the puck, making the closest pass to a forward or hitting an open man on the fly, nothing appears to phase him. He holds on to the point as long as he can, making the opposition fight that much harder to clear the zone. As Captain of the Whitby Wildcats Justin had 6G & 23 points in 36 ETA games this season. He has continued to develop since the beginning of the season and his coaching staff uses him in all situations. Lemcke is a great lacrosse player, and is a stud midfielder and has been called the best player lacrosse in his class, he communicates well with teammates, he can set up plays, drives the cage hard and seems unfazed by checks. He harasses ball carriers and is an outstanding feeder from any spot. All skills that he can bring to the Bulls as well.

On the ice Justin sees himself as a shut-down type D-man. He believes the strongest part of his game is being able to shut down the other teams first line and the ability to generating offence on the power play and penalty kill.

Jake Bricknell is an energy player, that finishes checks and works hard every shift. Everything that happens for Bricknell is based on work ethic. He has an edge but can score. Jake is more then an agitator but is the type of player that other teams don't like to play against, he is very hard on the puck and has good in close puck skills, Jake wins more battles then he loses. Bricknell is not afraid to go to the dirty areas and has the skill to capitalize on the chances he gets. In 56 games with the Central Ontario Wolves he had 25G, 32A and 143 PIMS. We see Jake Bricknell fitting in very well in the system that Coach Burnett and his staff employee. We believe that Bricknell will be a fan favourite at the Yardman the same way players like Jeff Leavitt, Andrew Gibbons, Matt Tipoff, Brett Mackie and Cory Tanaka were. The Bulls feel he will be ready to play in the fall and make a strong contribution.

"Laish" is the 2nd member of the Whitby Wildcats OMHA Gold Medal Finalists selected by the Belleville Bulls. Adam Laishram is very fast. He is a powerful elite skater with and without the puck. Adam prides himself to be an offensive minded player and the statistics don’t lie as he was one of his teams leading scorers with 14G & 19A in 35 games played. When Adam has the puck, he explodes up the ice. He is a hard worker that doesn’t take any shifts off and he wants to the puck in any zone of the ice. Adam also possesses a nice set of hands, especially at full speed which he uses to his advantage.

Maurizio Colella at one time was thought to be a projected 1st round selection and this could be the steal of the draft for the Bulls. Colella is a proven winner, he has 2 OMHA Golds, 2 OMHA silvers and 1 OMHA bronze. Maurizio has good size at 5'11.5" and will play a physical game and is really good at grinding the puck down low. In 33 games played with the York-Simcoe Express Colella had 29 points (15G,14A). Maurizio was a teammate of Bulls 2012 9th Rd selection Brody Morris on a Team Canada's U16 Ball hockey club in 2012 where he played defence.

Josh Supryka is from Belleville and is the son of Bulls assistant coach Jason Supryka. This isn't just a nice gesture from the Bulls. Josh is a smart two-way player with skills who should push for a spot next season. Supryka works hard, brings a good complete level and is tough to knock off of the puck. He works the boards well and can be effective at using his frame to protect the puck. This season with the Jr Frontenacs he had 8G and 19A in 33 games played.

Simon Besner is an EOMHL All Star. Simon had 8G 15A in 43 games with the Wild. Like a lot of kids its Simon's dream to play in the OHL at 16 so look for him to push hard at camp. His club played in the OEMHL AAA 2012-2013 Championship

Connor Hicks is a tall goaltender at 6'2". In 16 games played he went 9-2-4 with 3 shut outs and a nice 1.63 GAA. Hicks is a OEMHL AAA All-Star.

7th Rd 135th Overall Matt Luff (RW) - Oakville Rangers, 5'11" 153lbs

Matt Luff is a hard worker who does a lot of the dirty work for his teammates. Willing to physically sacrifice himself to advance a play. Work ethic and compete level is strong. Luff's Oakville Rangers won the 2013 Peterborough Tournament of Champions, OMHA Gold and OHL Cup CHAMPIONS. In 71 GP he had 20G 41A

Dallas Baird is a well sized forward who displays a good complete level. This season he had 19G and 16A in 51 games played for the Raiders. Dallas is willing to play an aggressive style and mix it up physically. Baird engages on the forecheck and is willing to do what it takes to win puck battles. He shows some good instincts with the puck. Good overall mobility for size.

Bean turned to the Jr. C loop to kickstart his junior career where his fine play and offensive contributions have certainly opened eyes. He was named Rookie of the Year in the Central Ontario Junior C Hockey League. Justin is an offensive-type skilled defenseman who has good ability. He’s a puck handler who creates offense off the rush and quarterbacks the powerplay. He distributes the puck really well. In 40 games played he had 8G 24A

Josh LeBlanc is a player to watch with his excellent complete level and above average skating stride. In 36 games he scored 13G and picked up 14A. Josh is able to maximize the power in his skating stride, using it to drive himself past defenders and take the puck to the net. LeBlanc has one of the best shots in this age group, he has a quick release that is deceptive. He effortlessly pulls the puck into his body and snaps an accurate shot that is difficult for goaltenders to pick up. He is willing to go to the dirty areas of the ice to make a play. Plays with energy and at a high pace in possession. Scouts were impressed with his world class conditioning.

Marlani had 37G and 38A in 59 games with Brampton and is an offensive minded forward. He's excellent at taking the puck into the open ice, protecting it and distributing or taking it to the net. Stephen is good down low, he can battle and will work for the puck along the boards. He uses his body to protect the puck and it makes him very effective at skating the puck into the offensive zone. More of a finisher then a playmaker. Good shot with a quick release.

Aggressive forward. Looks to be more of a role player at the OHL level, however he has some untapped offensive tools. Justin protects the puck well in traffic. Uses his body to protect the puck down low. Leverages defenceman off of the puck in puck battles. In 30 games played he had 6G and 10A

Christian is the Captain of the York-Simcoe Express who had 3G and 11A in 34GP. DeDonato is an offensively gifted defenseman with a really high hockey IQ, who produces points and has a great slap shot for his size. He always seems to find away to get his team up and ready to go. He leads by example on the ice by firing shots through to the net or creating fast breakouts.

Tufts has played Varsity hockey with the Titans at St. Theresa Secondary in Belleville. With the Red Devils Brock had a 3.36 GAA and went 0-9-1. His dad Stu Tufts played 9 games in the OHL with Belleville and Windsor.

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